Saturday, December 4, 2010

Joy.

It is goddamn busy at work. Nowadays I only got one, maximum two days off a week, and they're always packed with sleeping in, tidying up the flat, groceries shopping, catching up with friends and other things for which there hadn't been enough time. That's exactly why I always got loads and loads of blog material piling up on my computer - if only a day had more than 24 hours. But then again I'd probably just spend more time at work.

Anyway, when Diego was back in town I again made Curtis Stone's Tiramisu. You would never believe how easy it is, and it is so light and fluffy that you will definitely be willing to sacrifice some more of your future half hours to make it again, again and again.

* Fill a saucepan halfway with water; bring to a simmer. Set a shallow bowl on top and beat 4 large egg yolks and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar in the bowl with a handheld electric mixer for about 4 minutes, until pale and thick. Remove from heat, let it cool for 5 minutes.

* Place 2 cups of mascarpone (around 400g; at room temperature) in a large bowl. Stir in half of the egg yolk to lighten it, then fold in the remaining part.

* In another bowl using clean beaters, beat 2 large egg whites and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar with the electric mixer just until stiff peaks form; fold into the mascarpone mixture.

* Spoon a thin layer of the mascarpone mixture over the bottom of a 6 cup trifle bowl (I use a 25-cm square tray). Quickly submerge enough sponge finger biscuits (should be around 20-30 in total) for a layer in the espresso-brandy mixture, and arrange them in a single layer over the mascarpone. Spread more mascarpone mixture over the biscuits, and repeat with the remaining biscuits and mascarpone to form new layers, ending with the mascarpone mixture. Grate some bittersweet chocolateor sift some chocolate powder over the tiramisu. Refrigerate for around 2 hours, until set.

[From "Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone"]

Last Saturday Laurent picked me up from work and took me on a half-day surprise "trip". We went to the MCA to see the Annie Leibovitz exhibition, enjoyed the afternoon sun and the amazing Opera House and Harbour Bridge views from the Botanical Gardens, and had the funnest and bestest dinner ever at Bodega. It's amazing how such a simple day could bring so much joy.

Bodega fish fingers. A dream on toast.

The chefs at Bodega look like sexy rock stars and artists. It was so much fun watching them make the dishes (we had seats at the open kitchen), and they had fun with us too, as we were literally hanging at the bar losing our saliva - everything looked sooo fricken tasty. Even the olive oil that came with the bread tasted like green apple and banana, how cool is that?

Their version of banana split. Nowhere close to a classic one, but sets you into an euphoric state.

Other pleasures...

* Shopping for Christmas presents at Ariel and strolling around Surry Hills and Paddington with Susan.

* Polly's chicken mushroom risotto. I could have it for breakfast now.

* Making thịt kho (mom you should be proud of me!) and muffins in one night and seeing everything vanish.

* Browsing the internet for hours for more Christmas gift ideas. Results in lack of sleep but oh well.

* Watching How I Met Your Mother with Laurent and laughing our asses off. I know we're quite a bit behind but epic shows stay epic. Better late than never.

Ok, time to finish up. My uncle and my aunt are coming to see me in Manly today so I have to do the quickest massive clean-up of my life now (because it's 10.30 am already and I have no idea when they're arriving, and our flat looks like a bomb site. Although we just cleaned up this week.), and then I wanted to make some cookies. Will be back soon with my Christmas wish list - I know nobody's gonna help me fulfil my dreams anyway, but I'm just gonna do it for myself so there's something to keep the spirit up at work; people call it goal setting.

Oh yeah that's her.

Nicole Ngo

Manly, Sydney, NSW Australia

Originally from, well, anywhere.

hungry for love. thirsty for life.

[sunshine song - jason mraz]

loves good food and drinks, having fun times with family and friends, the beach, weird, funky, cute, extraordinary and exotic destinations (could be anything from a café to a new country!), walking barefoot, fashion, good reads, doing nothing, messy hair, being around lovely people, and capturing all these with any camera that's handy. i am trapped somewhere between business and art - i am success driven and (fairly) organised but hate numbers; i fail (not too badly but still) at drawing, painting, playing music and singing, but i do have an eye for beauty and at least can work cameras. which means i could either be pretty useful or pretty useless when i'm lost.

this blog keeps me going and holds all great memories that aren't to be forgotten. welcome to the brighter days of my journey.